I attended the bike rally on Saturday evening on Aug.18, mainly because I was curious as to how many riders would attend. I arrived around 8:30 that evening and was shocked to see only about 30 people milling around. A popular local band was going to be playing, so many of their local fans started coming in and that helped to increase the crowd. I honestly believe that their music kept the bike rally from being just about as boring as a quilting bee.

Being the inquisitive female that I am, I got the opportunity to speak to some folks who had traveled from Georgia, South Carolina and Tennessee. They all had the same response toward the bike rally. They loved our town, but the rally was a huge disappointment. I totally agree.

I only stayed for a couple of hours because of 1) It was the worst bike rally I had ever seen, and 2) I had to get up early for church the next day. Yes, I am a Christian saved by the Grace of God and no, I do not drink alcohol.

As I was driving home, I recalled a day back in November of 2008. We were moving to Franklin and I was looking for work. Upon entering the employment office, I was greeted by a sweet looking woman who appeared to be about 70 years old. I told her I was moving to Franklin and was interested in reviewing the jobs they had available.

This sweet woman looked me up and down, then in a low whisper of a voice said, "Honey, you don't want to live here." It is a rare instance for me to become speechless, but this was totally unexpected. After quickly regaining consciousness, I asked her why. She said, "Well sweetie, there are no jobs here and there is nothing to do." I smiled sweetly back at her, thinking to myself that she must be a little senile. "Could I look at the jobs anyway?" I asked.

It took about two minutes for me to realize the sweet woman was totally sane. There were 8 jobs available. That's what I said ... 8 jobs. We ended up moving to Franklin anyway, and eventually created a job for ourselves since there were no jobs available here.

Now, four years later, I'm driving home from the bike rally and I can't stop laughing. I'm thinking about my encounter with the sweet old woman at the employment office. I'm laughing because I'm looking for employment again (without much luck I must add) and there is still nothing to do in Franklin. Talk about deja vu! Or maybe, this woman has lived here her whole life and nothing has changed in 70 years! We could seriously be looking at a major “Twilight Zone” episode being filmed right here in Franklin, N.C.